They can't hurt you now
by Olego
Summary: Kevin is awoken by Scotty in the middle of the night, and not without a reason.
1. They can't hurt you now

"Kevin…"

Kevin turned around a bit in his sleep to see what his husband wanted at this god-forsaken hour.

"Mhm…?" Came his sleepy reply.

"I'm not well."

Kevin was suddenly wide awake. Scotty sat up in bed, and he was pale.

"I'm having trouble breathing."

"What?" Kevin sat up next to him putting a supportive arm on Scotty's thigh. "Trouble as in I should get you a glass of water, or as in we should go to the ER?"

"I'm sure it's nothing." Scotty answers, lightly gasping after air. "I just wanted you to be awake… in case…"

They sit together in bed for a while, Kevin stroking Scotty's thigh until Scotty grabs hold of the sheet under him, taking in a deep breath of air.

"Okay, we're going to the ER. Get dressed." Kevin is quickly out of bed and in clothes. He grabs his car keys and waits for Scotty by the front door. He comes out of the bedroom, walking slowly.

"I'm a bit dizzy."

Kevin puts his arm round Scotty's waist.

"It's gonna be alright." With his free had Kevin sends a message to his mother. _Scotty in er, i call when i know, tell everyone in the morning._

Kevin looks at the time. It's slightly past four AM, but he sends the message anyway. If he knows his mother right the whole family will know by breakfast.

--

One hour later Scotty is submitted in the hospital and a doctor checks his lungs and heart beat. Kevin sits on a chair looking at them. The doctor tells Scotty to cough, which makes him gasp for air even more. Kevin is playing with his wedding ring, and Scotty thinks he look like a vulnerable child hearing his parents argue.

"Mr. Wandell," The doctor looks at his chart when he's done with his exam. "I want a more extensive check of your lungs and your body's ability to absorb oxygen. Nurse Johnson will bring you to the laboratory to do this." The doctor turns to Kevin. "You will have to wait in the waiting room."

Kevin caresses Scotty's arm and smiles. He wants to be supportive, and hopes his smile doesn't show off how scared he is. He isn't ready for Scotty to be ill or sick, he just wants them to be happy newly-weds.

Kevin walks out into the waiting area, and somehow he's not chocked to meet his mother and all his siblings. He walks right into Nora's arms and hug her tight.

"It'll be alright, sweetie." He hears her whisper softly to him, while rocking him slowly back and fourth.

--

"Mr. Walker?" A doctor entered the waiting room an hour later and the whole Walker family stood up. They had silently been waiting for more information on what was wrong with Scotty. Kevin took a step forward.

"Yes?"

"Your husband is okay, the breathing difficulties are most likely to be stress related."

"Most likely?" Kevin has worked with twisting words too long to let that formulation pass.

"We can't find anything wrong with his blood, his heart is beating steadily in spite of the loss of oxygen and his lungs are flawless. He's overall in good shape."

"So what now?"

"I will offer him to be listed sick for a couple of weeks." The doctor gestures towards Kevin to follow him. They walk into a small examination room.

"I will be honest, Mr. Walker." Kevin knows it will come now, there's got to be some catch. "These things aren't that uncommon anymore, we see them all the time. Very seldom when someone has these symptoms, they go away after one hospital visit."

The doctor looked understanding and caring, but Kevin had problems understanding what he was getting at. Yes, Scotty worked a lot, apparently too much. He would just have to cut back a bit, and rest more. Problem solved, no?

"Your husband will hopefully accept the sick-listing and stay at home for a couple of weeks, but chances are that it he likes being occupied, he will continue to be so. Stress-related issues are not only provocated from work and other tasks, but also from the patient themselves."

What was the doctor trying to say? If someone knew how to take care of themselves, it was Scotty. He worked out, he ate healthy and he slept a lot.

"This may be difficult for you too to comprehend, but you are also probably the best person to help him." The doctor looked a bit sad. Kevin glanced at his watch, it's not even six.

"That's all I can do right now, Mr. Walker." The doctor moved in direction of the door. Kevin lingered in the room, not sure what it was that the doctor had actually told him.

"You can see him now, he's down the corridor."

Kevin exited the room and Nora was there right next to him in seconds.

"How is he?" Sarah caresses her brother's back. The rest of them gather around. Kevin realizes neither of them actually know what is going on, why they are there at all.

"He's okay. He's got trouble breathing due to stress." Kevin's sarcasm is back, now as a defense more than ever. "We can see him." Kevin wipes his eyes, even though he's successfully managed to hold back his tears all night.

Kevin enters the room where Scotty is laying. Nora has held back the rest of the family to give the two of them some time alone.

Scotty is smiling, if so a bit strained. Kevin walks over and takes his hand, sitting down on the chair next to the bed.

"Thank you."

Scotty laughs a bit.

"For what?" He looks hesitant to why he should earn a thanks at this moment.

"For being okay. For being you." Kevin buries his head in Scotty's side, and Scotty entwine his fingers in Kevin's hair.

"You have to take time off. Do nothing." Kevin lifts his head a bit. "Forever."

"I will, sweetie." Scotty knew he had to, but he also knew it would be hard. The doctor had talked to him about it, and proclaimed to him that he could easily get worse if he didn't.

Kevin sat up again.

"We have to call your parents."

Scotty exhaled and a frown appeared on his face.

"Why?"

Kevin understood him, he really did. They hadn't even been able to swallow their own beliefs for their son's wedding and happiness, so why should Scotty still feel obliged to notify them about his life.

"Because." Kevin tried a smile and a squeeze of Scotty's hand.

Just then there was a knock by the door. Nora peeked in through the open door.

"Can we come in?" She didn't await an answer but entered, followed by her four other children.

"Why are you all here?" Scotty didn't know if he should be flattered or just uncomfortable for being the reason all these people were awake much too early.

"Of course we are here." Kitty explains. She had been up only minutes after her mother had called, and since she had been wondering if everyone would've done the same for Robert. They probably would've, but if they had done it with the same care, Kitty doesn't want to think about.

"Yeah, have you met us?" Justin leans against the window frame.

"Exactly. We're here for you, whatever you need." Sarah says, and the rest agrees with nods.

"Now Scotty, you will have to work less and let Kevin serve you."

"Mom!"

"What, Kevin? We're doing this as a family. Together." The smile she shoots Scotty relaxes him a lot. He knows they aren't there because they have to, but because he's _family_. He smiles back and again squeezes Kevin's hand.


	2. Mum's the word

Scotty was released from the hospital later in the afternoon, or at least that was the way he himself would described it. Kevin had left for work in the morning, with a promise to try and be home as early as possible. Nora had stayed with him all day, encouraging him when he had to call work and let them know he wouldn't be able to work at all for two weeks, and less than before after that.

After having signed endless amounts of papers at the reception, he left the hospital with Nora. He still had difficulties to breathe, but the doctor told him that he was in no danger and that his breathing would be fine within a couple of days.

Nora put Scotty in her car, literally, and drove him to his and Kevin's apartment. She followed him up and opened the door for him.

"Maybe I should wait with you until Kevin comes home." Nora says as she closes the door behind her. "So you don't have to be alone."

"It's okay, don't worry." Scotty sank down onto the couch as soon as he entered. He was feeling quite okay, but still a bit light-headed.

"Perhaps I can make you some tea?" Nora offered. Scotty really wanted her to stay, so he agreed.

A few minutes later she sits down on the couch next to Scotty, placing one cup in front of him and another one in front of herself.

"I was in the mood." She smiles and nods towards the cup. She holds her hand over it as if to check if it's too warm to drink. "How are you feeling now?"

Scotty understands that she means more than just the stress.

"It makes me think. Kevin wants me to call my parents to tell them, but I just can't find it in me to do so. I don't know if they've told you, but before our wedding Kevin went with Justin and Tommy to see my parents." The look on Nora's face tells him she doesn't know, and that surprises him.

"They were, let's say… less than friendly, to put it mildly, but I called my dad later that night, and he wished me good luck. Things have always been easier with him." Scotty looks up, not really having realized it's his mother-in-law he is sitting there with, opening up to.

Nora smiles comforting at him and puts her hand on his arm. He likes being able to tell her these things, but he also can't help feeling like it's a betrayal against his own mother.

"It's like I don't need them. They used to be my solid point, the thing in my life that doesn't change, no matter what I do and if everything else screws up." Nora nods. She knows this too well. She had totally forgotten about it, but something very similar happened to her when she had just married William.

"Now I have Kevin." Scotty finished, sounding rather small. He wanted to add "_and you guys_", but he didn't. Somehow that was a guard he wasn't prepared to lower.

The look on Nora's face told him she knew exactly what he meant, and he wasn't surprised. From what he'd heard from Kevin, her mother wasn't exactly a picnic either.

"When I moved from my mother's house and in with William, I was so frightened. Of course, I was very young and I had never lived by myself. I didn't know _me_. I knew I had a family, I just didn't know which one it was, my mother whom I never felt really comfortable with, my brother who was off living his life somewhere else at the time, and William, whom I hadn't known for that long then." Nora's gaze was still steadily on Scotty, not just rambling on.

"I wrote a lot back then, and drew too. Not that I was that artistic, but that was my way of expressing. I really needed that." Nora laughs a bit at the next memory. "Then came Sarah, more or less planned." Scotty's surprised face tells Nora that their starting a family might sound like a mistake. "She was, really." Nora assures him, and then she grins mischievously.

"We had planned this very romantic evening after a dinner with potential investors for Ojai. That never happened, instead Sarah was conceived in William's car. Kevin was conceived in a bathroom at a party venue in Santa Monica. Don't tell anyone."

Scotty laughed at the information. He knew Kevin would freak if he knew, and not that Scotty would tell him, but it would be a show to watch Kevin handle that piece of information.

"I'm supposing you don't want to know, but neither of them were conceived the way we planned. That shows how unpredictable life is. Every time I found out I was pregnant, that's the happiest I've ever been. That's family. It's what you choose because it makes you happy. If your parents don't, then you don't need to be best friends with them."

Scotty nods, but the conclusion doesn't feel right.

"Remember Scotty, they were probably the happiest ever when they found out they were having you. That's irreversible." Nora leaned over to take her tea. She tasted a sip and exhaled from dislike. "Now I've rambled on so the tea is lukewarm. It's so tricky with tea, not too hot, not too cold. There are only a few minutes were it's perfect to drink."

Scotty smiled at Nora's more usual rant. Just then there was a noise from the door. It opened and Kevin walked in. If he was surprised to find his mother there, he didn't show it. He walked over to Scotty and placed a small peck on his lips.

"You feel better, sweetie?" Scotty nods in reply.

"Well, I should probably take off." Nora gets up and disappears into the kitchen with the cup.

"Has she been pestering your existence all day, or did you find time to breathe. Uh, metaphorically."

"She's been great, Kev." Scotty pats his husband on his thigh, and can't stop thinking about how and where Nora might have gotten pregnant with him. He chuckles a bit.

Nora comes back out into the living room.

"Now take care, and call me if you need anything." She waved goodbye and disappeared through the door.

"I'm glad you're feeling better, I've been worried all day." Kevin kissed Scotty again, this time deeper, as it was no longer supervised by his mother.

Scotty quickly breaks the kiss, gesturing that he needs to yawn to catch his breath.

Kevin gets up to turn on the computer.

"Oh, and you know what?" He excitedly says to Scotty. "You know my colleague Eric? He's getting married, and it's not to a woman."

"Really? Didn't see that one coming." Scotty replies sarcastically.

"I know." Kevin sniggers. "Anyway, we're both invited. They'll have this Grande thing in Santa Monica."

Scotty nearly chokes on his tea, managing to squirt tea all over the coffee table. Kevin looks at him in disbelief. Scotty sees his questioning eyes and remembers his promise to Nora.

"No, nothing." He tries to hide his smile. "Just something your mother said."


	3. Doing nothing isn't an option

"Keviiin…" Scotty whined. He was on the couch, and he wanted a blanket, but he did not want to get up and get it himself.

"Yes, love?" Kevin looked out from the kitchen where he was preparing sandwiches and tea. The past two weeks when Scotty had been home from work he had really made an effort in pampering Scotty. He knew how much he needed his rest to get better.

Scotty found it hard to motivate to stay in the house, not doing anything, day after day after day, when nothing was wrong with him physically. Kevin had effectively put out all attempts for small projects, such as re-furnishing, putting up new curtains and cleaning. He would allow Scotty to cook his own meal while Kevin was at work, but every evening Kevin was the one working in the kitchen.

"Can you get me a blanket?" I'm a bit cold." Scotty made his puppy eyes and Kevin quickly obliged. When he returns to the couch with the blue and green patterned blanket he steals a kiss. "It smells really good." Scotty compliments him.

"I'm just gonna check on it. You know, my lasagna is world famous." Kevin calls from the kitchen.

"So strange I haven't heard of it, then." Scotty teases.

Kevin returns shortly, and squeezes himself down with Scotty's legs on the couch, placing Scotty's feet on his lap, eager for a massage. Scotty wiggle his toes for a bit to make his point.

"So… have you called your parents?" Kevin asks the question in a soft voice, not wanting to cause any stress or bad feelings with his husband.

"No." Scotty is short and un-focused.

"Are you gonna…?"

"Yeah."

After Scotty's talk with Nora just after his hospital stay, he had called them once, but without a response. He didn't know if they just hadn't been at home, or if they had dodged his call. He feared the second, and the energy he had after Nora's talk had just disappeared from him.

Kevin continued his careful and thorough foot massage, and moved his hands up Scotty's leg a bit.

"Do you… want me to call them?"

Scotty's attention is rapidly all on Kevin.

"Why?"

"Just to tell them… that you were at the hospital, and that you're good now. Nothing more."

Scotty sighs loudly.

"Scotty, just because this doesn't leave any scars on your body, doesn't mean it's not a real thing." Kevin tries to sound diplomatic and un-lawyerly.

"I know that." Scotty looks sad. "It's just. If it weren't for the fact that they are my mom and dad, I wouldn't know them or even _like_ them."

"I know."

"They put me through hell, Kev."

"I know, love." Kevin was full of compassion, and he knew exactly what Scotty meant. He had gone through the same with his dad, only that had turned out slightly better.

"The difference between now and then, is that now you don't need their approval. They have all cards on their table, they know all the facts. It's not your job to try and please them by hiding who you are."

Scotty smiles a bit and lets it be quiet between them for a while, making Kevin suspect he over-stepped.

"I love it when you're all lawyerly." Scotty's smile becomes even bigger. "I'll call them. Tomorrow."

They share a smile.

"Now how's that lasagna coming?"

--

"Hello."

Okay, so at least his mother picked up, but could she sound a little bit welcoming?

"Hi, it's me." Scotty says hesitantly.

"Hello Scott." Scotty closes his eyes and exhales quietly. _Don't let her get to you._

"I just thought I'd call and… talk."

"Your father isn't home." _It's great talking to you too._

"I was in the hospital." For a moment he thinks he hear something that might be interpreted as some kind of worried sound from her side.

"What for?" _Oh sorry, wouldn't wanna spend your tax dollars._

"I'm… uh… stressed. I had trouble breathing." He hears it from her side, and he knows she thinks it's ridiculous.

"You sound okay now." _Yes, so you can hold your horses from visiting._

"I am."

It's quiet for a while.

"So now I'm off work for a couple of weeks."

"That doesn't pay the bills, does it?" _Interesting coming from someone who's been a housewife their whole life._

"Well, I have insurance from work, and Kevin works…"

His mother breaks in before he finished though.

"Then you've got it settled."

"So, just let dad know, and… tell him I said hi."

"Okay, I will. Bye."

Right, that's it. Don't tell Kevin hi, no hope you feel better and no hear from you later. Scotty is about to cry. He sobs loudly but thinks of Kevin's words. She's not worth it, it's not his job to make her happy.

Okay, Kevin can say whatever he wants, he needs to get out of there. He could go see Kevin at work, but he would probably just send him right back home. He fetches the keys to his car and leaves.


	4. Got to have faith

"Scotty?"

"Hi, I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"No, of course not. You're always welcome. I thought you had a key." Nora backed into the house to let her son-in-law in.

"No…" Scotty hadn't even thought about a key actually.

"I'm gonna get you one. I don't know…" Nora was already so far away Scotty didn't hear what she said.

She shortly returned with a key dangling in a ring between her fingers.

"Now you can come and go as you want." Nora hands him the key. "And I hope you do."

"Thank you Nora." Scotty encloses the key in his hand. "I actually have a favor to ask you." He says warily.

"Whatever you need." Nora says and leads the way into the kitchen.

"I just talked to my mother." Scotty starts and sits down on one of the stools. Nora motions at the coffee maker, suggesting a cup.

"No. Don't wanna awake some kind of latent ulcer."

"Okay. Your mother?" Nora sits down with Scotty.

"Well, you know, she and my dad didn't come to the wedding, and that pretty much says it all." Scotty tries a laugh. "This stress thing has brought up my connection to them again. This time wasn't that bad, but maybe one day when I'm really sick, and…"

Nora smiles encouragingly at him and places a hand on his hand. He feels the warmth from her hand, and the warm key in his hand.

"Kevin is my family now, he's the one deciding if I'm in the hospital. My parents are supposed to be there as support for me, and for him. And they're not."

"I know what you mean. Being torn between your mother and your husband, believe me, I was there." Nora comforts, full of sympathy.

"I'd like nothing more than to just tell them goodbye and have a nice life, at least my mother, but it seems important to Kevin, and I guess just this once, he may be right." Scotty smiles.

He doesn't like admitting it, but Kevin's constant nagging about Scotty being in touch with his parents might actually not be totally out there.

"And I thought I should maybe invite them to come visit us here. I don't know if they will even want to come, but maybe if I show them I want them in my life, they can reach out too." Scotty speaks quick, as if he wants to have it said before he changes his mind.

"That sounds like a good idea. I watched William adjusting to Kevin's life, and whatever bad things a parent might have said, they still love their child and want what's best for them." Nora says gently. "It sounds really cliché, but take it for what it is." Scotty smiles in return.

"What I wanted to ask you, is if maybe you would want to meet them?" Scotty's request is spoken with big anxiousness.

"Of course I will!" Scotty is happy that Nora's reply is quick and genuine, and he now realizes that it was stupid of him to doubt her even for a second.

"I'll invite them here for dinner. If you want, the whole horde can be here, with all that means."

"Oh, I was thinking more a quiet coffee in town." Scotty assures her.

"Are you sure? Nora looked almost sad and Scotty suspects she was already setting the table in her head.

"Or we could do it here." Scotty adds. With all the drama that will arise, maybe his parents will find his marriage to be quiet, small and even mundane. Unless Kevin yanks hair off someone, that is.

"It'll be nice and calm, don't you worry sweetie." Nora strokes his cheek and smiles widely, and even though he doubts her promise will come true, he likes how she'll at least try. Now he only hopes that they will actually come.

"Thank you, Nora." She retracts her hand from his and he opens his to see the key in it and seeing it puts a smile on his face. "I should go home."

"Oh, yes." She gets up. "You need something else, are you feeling better?"

"Yes, much better."

Definitely better. The feeling he's had lately, of being torn between different parts of his life may actually solve. Or maybe he's just hoping too much from his parents, but it feels like it could work. If they meet Nora and the all of Kevin's brothers and sisters, maybe they will understand why he likes his life as it is. Perhaps they can go from claiming they accept him, to actually accepting the way he lives.


End file.
